Minister pays visit to see thriving shops

CABINET minister Ian Duncan Smith paid a visit to Shirehampton's High Street after being invited to see some of the thriving independent businesses there.

The Work and Pensions Secretary was invited to the area by Bristol North West MP Charlotte Leslie, who is involved in a campaign for a new big-name supermarket in the area – which is being backed by local traders.

Ms Lewis said: "It will bring more people into the village and means more footfall going past the shops.

"We have only had one supermarket (the Co-op) here for so long, and when it closed for refurbishment a lot of people had to go elsewhere – then stayed elsewhere when it opened again."

Ms Leslie said: "There's a real local community spirit here.

"Shirehampton people are very resilient – they have had so much thrown at them over the years – they lost their swimming pool and leisure centre – and yet have a community that's determined to get on.

"They still have a vibrant high street that's holding on right now but you can't take anything for granted."

She said the arrival of a second supermarket could be a trigger, along with the reopening of the Lamplighters pub and hoped-for Henbury Loop railway line, to spark an upturn in fortunes for the area.

Mr Duncan Smith, who bought a bag of apples at the grocer's, said the government was encouraging supermarkets to open more branches on high streets.

"Having shops like that encourages people back on to high streets," he said.

He said there was "no magic wand" to restore the fortunes of the high street but said the government was trying to make life easier for small independent businesses by cutting red tape, while calling on councils to make high street parking easier.